LOS ANGELES — Tonight at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Clippers will encourage fans and all Los Angeles residents to be “Greater Than AIDS” as part of a national partnership with NBA Cares. Greater Than AIDS is new national movement to respond to AIDS in America developed by the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute together with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“Everyday in ways large and small, individuals, communities and businesses have deciding moments about critical issues of our day. HIV and AIDS continue to be a major health threat in Los Angeles,” said Phill Wilson, Founder & Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute.

As part of a locally-focused partnership with The California Endowment, Greater Than AIDS has teamed up with the LA Clippers for “LOS ANGELES > AIDS” night to mobilize NBA fans and Los Angeles communities in response to AIDS in the United States and reduce the stigma associated with the disease. In addition to in-arena messaging and co-branded giveaways at tonight’s Clippers game against the Chicago Bulls, an NBA/Greater Than AIDS public service message will be presented during halftime, to be broadcast on national NBA TV. The LOS ANGELES > AIDS game is developed as part of an ongoing partnership between Greater Than AIDS and the NBA/WNBA.

“HIV/AIDS doesn’t discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender, race and ethnicity and neither should we discriminate against or stigmatize individuals living with HIV and AIDS,” said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president & CEO of The California Endowment. “By reducing stigma around HIV/AIDS more people will get tested and seek out treatment so they can continue to lead healthy, productive lives.”

Staff and volunteers from two leading Los Angeles organizations — Black AIDS Institute and AIDS Project Los Angeles — will be on-hand at the Staples Center to distribute custom informational materials and connect fans with local services. All materials distributed to fans at the game feature these local resources.

“As one of the hardest-hit urban areas, Los Angeles is a critical front in the fight against new HIV infections,” said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. “We’re honored to join this important effort to end the stigma that continues to surround, and drive, the epidemic.”

More than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS today — more than at any time in the 30 year history of the epidemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 5 of those who are positive does not know it. Early diagnosis and treatment are known to improve the lives of those living with the disease. Stigma also remains a major barrier to stemming the spread of HIV. The Los Angeles area remains disportionately impacted, with higher than national prevalence rates in Los Angeles.

Tonight’s LOS ANGELES > AIDS night tips off at 7:30 PM at the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Clippers host the Chicago Bulls. Tickets are available at www.clippers.com.

About Greater Than AIDSGreater Than AIDS is an unprecedented collaboration among a broad coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States, in particular among Black Americans and other disproportionately affected groups. Through a national media campaign and targeted community outreach, Greater Than AIDS aims to increase knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the disease. www.greaterthan.org

The Kaiser Family Foundation — a leader in health policy and communications — provides strategic direction and day-to-day management, as well as oversees the production of the media campaign. The Kaiser Family Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. The Black AIDS Institute — a think tank exclusively focused on AIDS in Black America — provides leadership and expert guidance and directs community engagement. Greater Than AIDS is developed in support of Act Against AIDS, an effort by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to refocus attention on the domestic epidemic. Additional, financial and substantive support is provided by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation and MAC AIDS Fund, among others.

About Greater Than AIDS/NBA Cares PartnershipGreater Than AIDS and the National Basketball Assocation have teamed up to mobilize NBA fans and local communities in response to AIDS in the United States and reduce the stigma associated with the disease. The partnership includes television and radio public service ads (PSAs) featuring NBA/WNBA players, including Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx), whose father, former professional baseball player Alan Wiggins, died of AIDS in 1991. The partnership also includes targeted activations, community events, and special “Greater Than AIDS” in-arena nights to bring attention to HIV/AIDS in priority markets. Learn more: www.greaterthan.org/nba

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Based on the December Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the latest KFF data note explores Americans’ awareness of what the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will do. As the 112th Congress prepared to take office and the discussion of repeal was on the rise, we ‘quizzed’ Americans on whether they thought a series of ten provisions were included in the new law, ranging from five items that are part of the law (i.e., Medicaid expansion, changes in private health insurance), to five items that popped up at times in the larger debate but are not in the ACA, such as coverage for illegal immigrants and so-called ‘death panels.’ Majorities of Americans can identify certain provisions as being part of the new health care law, but the quiz also shows smaller but still significant proportions have misperceptions about the law.

In the wake of the health reform repeal vote in the U.S. House and the ongoing legal challenges over the individual mandate, nearly half the country either believes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been repealed and is no longer law (22 percent) or doesn’t know enough to say whether it is still law (26 percent). Roughly half of Americans (52 percent) accurately report that the ACA is still the law of the land.

Meanwhile, views on repeal continue to be very mixed: with four in ten backing repeal (but half of those hoping the law will be replaced with a Republican alternative), three in ten backing an expansion of the law, and two in ten hoping to see it implemented as is. And most Americans continue to report they want to keep many of the key provisions of the law. There is more agreement when it comes to the strategy of using the legislative budgeting process to stop implementation of the law: six in ten continue to oppose the idea.

Overall opinion on the law is largely unchanged from January, with the public roughly divided and partisans on opposite sides of the issue, though negative views having risen among senior citizens in recent months. Finally, the survey finds little evidence that the public is suffering from issue fatigue when it comes to health reform.

The February poll is the latest in a series designed and analyzed by the Foundation’s public opinion research team.

Findings (.pdf)

Chartpack (.pdf)

Toplines (.pdf)

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is coming up on a year old, but in the midst of continuing debate over the merits of the landmark health care overhaul, how well do Americans understand what the new law will actually do? As the 112th Congress prepared to take office and the discussion of repeal was on the rise, the Foundation included a ten-question “quiz” on the December Kaiser Health Tracking poll to try to answer this question. The quiz asked Americans whether they thought a series of ten provisions were included in the new law, ranging from five items that are part of the law (i.e., Medicaid expansion, changes in private health insurance), to five items that popped up at times in the larger debate but are not in the ACA, such as coverage for illegal immigrants and so-called “death panels.” This Data Note looks at the public’s familiarity with the ACA through the lens of their quiz results. 

Data Note (.pdf)

This report examines Medicaid spending growth nationally during the last decade, with a focus on growth during the recession of 2007 to 2009.

The recession-driven enrollment growth in recent years drove program spending to increase faster than national health spending overall, but on a per enrollee basis the growth in Medicaid spending has remained lower than the rise in private insurance premiums and overall national health expenditures. The recession-driven increase in Medicaid enrollment has been the primary cause of the increase in overall Medicaid spending.

Report (.pdf)

This analysis examines the potential costs and savings that the health reform law may generate for state budgets, a topic of great interest at a time when states continue to struggle with tight budgets in the wake of the recession. The analysis seeks to explain why recent state estimates of the likely impact of health reform on their budgets vary widely, and discusses the major expected sources of costs and savings as the new law is implemented.

It finds that there are many opportunities and new options to offset the state costs related to the expansion of Medicaid, such as reducing payments for uncompensated care costs as the number of uninsured declines. The actual impact on states will vary based on current state coverage and according to how each state implements the law. The review of state analyses found most state estimates reflected potential cost increases but did not account for the full range of potential savings.

Executive Summary (.pdf)

Issue Brief (.pdf)

As both federal and state governments gear up to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), concerns about the supply and distribution of physicians, particularly primary care physicians, are being raised. In many areas of the country, there is a shortage of primary care physicians, and some worry about whether the current workforce can meet the growing demand for services that will likely accompany coverage expansions.

To inform provider workforce issues related to health reform, this brief examines insurance coverage and access to care among the population residing in Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), which are areas with documented shortages of physicians and other health providers.

Brief (.pdf)

This fact sheet examines how the recent recession drove up Medicaid enrollment as millions of Americans lost jobs and income, and how that increase in enrollment has been the primary cause of the increase in overall Medicaid spending.

Fact Sheet (.pdf)

Three papers from the Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examine Medicaid enrollment and spending during the recent recession. The analyses show Medicaid enrollment rose above 50 million people nationally for the first time in 2010, reflecting the program’s counter-cyclical role of helping people who become uninsured when the economy falters, with many turning to Medicaid after losing jobs and employer-based health insurance. Without access to Medicaid coverage, millions more people who suffered economic hardship likely would have joined the ranks of America’s now 50 million uninsured.

The recession-driven enrollment growth in recent years drove program spending to increase faster than national health spending overall, but on a per enrollee basis the growth in Medicaid spending has remained lower than the rise in private insurance premiums and overall national health expenditures. The recession-driven increase in Medicaid enrollment has been the primary cause of the increase in overall Medicaid spending.

The papers include:

Medicaid Spending Growth Over The Last Decade and the Great Recession, 2000 to 2009

Medicaid Spending Growth and the Great Recession, 2007-2009 (A Fact Sheet)

Medicaid Enrollment June 2011 Data Snapshot

The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University partnership conducted a survey to examine how the recession has reshaped the lives of Americans and takes a closer look at experiences by race and ethnicity. This survey is the 21st in a series of surveys dating back to 1995 that have been conducted as part of The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation Survey Project.

Toplines (.pdf)

Read The Washington Post articles on the survey:Economy poll: African Americans, Hispanics were hit hardest but are most optimisticIn rough economic times, black Americans hold on to their optimismPoll: Whites without college degrees especially pessimistic about economyBlacks, Hispanics hold few investments, poll showsHispanics trail other groups in Web usage, confidence

Data Note: The Digital Divide and Access to Health Information Online